Typical acoustic logging tools may include, by way of example, a circumferential televiewer which comprises a rotating ultrasonic acoustic transducer that operates in a frequency range on the order of 100 kHz or more. Higher acoustic frequencies are preferred in order to achieve better resolution in the confined space of a borehole. In operation, the televiewer rotates at a desired rate such as 5 to 16 rotations per second to continuously scan the borehole sidewall as the televiewer is drawn up the borehole at a rate that is typically 3/16 to ⅜ inch per scan. A beam of acoustic pulses is launched along the normal to the borehole sidewall as the transducer scans the interior surface of the borehole. The pulse rate depends upon the desired spatial resolution such as 1500 pulses per second or 128 to 256 pulses per scan. The insonified borehole sidewall returns pulses reflected therefrom, back to the transducer on a time-multiplexed basis. The reflected acoustic signals are detected, amplified and displayed to provide a continuous picture of the texture and structure of the borehole sidewall. Other application include determination of the goodness of a cement bond to a steel casing as well as monitoring the integrity of the casing itself.
The diameter of a borehole logger is on the order of 2⅞ in (7.3 cm), so that it can be run into relatively small boreholes. However many borehole diameters are on the order of 10-14″ (25.4-35.6 cm) or more such that the length of the acoustic-pulse trajectory from the transducer, through the borehole fluid to the borehole sidewall, may be up to 10″ (25.4 cm). In the normal course of events, the borehole fluid is contaminated by drill cuttings, air bubbles and foreign matter which severely attenuate the acoustic energy by scattering because the physical dimensions of the contaminants are comparable to the wavelength of the wavefields emitted by the transducer.
What is even more troublesome, however, is the complication that the acoustic attenuation coefficient in certain types of drilling fluid such as heavily-weighted oil-based muds is very high, on the order of 5 dB/cm. Since the reflected acoustic signals must propagate over a two-way travel path, the maximum path length through the highly-attenuating drilling fluid should normally be kept well under 4 cm. Even that short path length may result in an attenuation of 20 dB. Although it is true that the coefficient of attenuation diminishes with decreasing acoustic frequency, space considerations and resolution requirements do not permit the use of large, low-frequency transducers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,889 to Priest having the same assignee as the present disclosure teaches an apparatus in which televiewer signals from a rotary sidewall acoustic-beam scanner is improved by replacing the volume of borehole drill fluid that lies in the path of the acoustic beam with a solid medium characterized by a lower coefficient of attenuation than that of the drill fluid. A mud excluder assembly is used for the purpose. The excluder assembly includes a solid shroud of polymethylacrylate, polycarbonate polymethylflouroethylene, polyphenylsulfide or polymethylpentane or any other solid medium that has an acceptably low coefficient of acoustic attenuation. An added constraint of the shroud is that its acoustic impedance should match as closely as possible the acoustic impedance of the fluid inside the enclosure as well as the fluid bathing the exterior of the shroud.
It would be desirable to have an apparatus and method with a simpler structure that is able to make acoustic measurements of a borehole wall when the borehole includes a highly attenuating fluid. The present disclosure addresses this need.